View full sizeAP photoSarah Palin waves after speaking at the Glenn Beck 'Restoring Honor' rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Saturday.

"Glenn Beck's 'fear-extravaganza'," as a favorite columnist put it, is over and what was the result? Nothing much, except some lingering questions by Beck worshipers about who is to blame for everything the Fox guy said is wrong with America -- biblically speaking.

I think a better comparison for Beck is Elmer Gantry, the character in the Sinclair Lewis book whose title is the same name of the carny-like, phony evangelist whose utterings mesmerized the country folk looking for simple answers as the Great Depression approached.

As Schultz understood the live Beck show:

"On Aug. 28, 2010, a right-wing talk-show host attempted to hijack the legacy of the civil rights movement by standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, claiming divine destiny and then delivering a cobbled version of American history and Scripture so weird and warped that even many conservative Christians winced."

After the TV right-wing messiah's revival meeting, Beck is back at his regular Fox time slot. America has shrugged off the fire and brimstone.